Wheat Belly (Revised and Expanded Edition)

  Can the United States economy endure the huge shakedown that would result if demand for wheat was to plummet to make way for other crops and food sources? How widely achievable are organic, free-range, farm-to-table, local, and sustainable sources of food for the masses? Is it even possible to maintain access to cheap, high-volume food for the millions of people who presently rely on high-yield wheat for $5.00 pizza and $1.59 loaves of bread?

  I don’t have all the answers. But, in the meantime, you First World folk have the freedom to proclaim your Wheat Belly emancipation with the power of consumer dollars. Waiting in the drive-through line of your favorite fast-food restaurant to indulge your whole grain choices should really not be part of your family’s eating experience, unless desperation sets in, of course. Are you really willing to compromise by eating foods that should never have become food in order to survive another week or month in return for rheumatoid arthritis, diverticulitis, a course of antibiotics for a ruptured colonic diverticulum, or wandering the streets in your underwear at age sixty-five?

  The “healthy whole grains” idea is the great granddaddy of nutritional blunders, the mistake that took us down this rabbit hole of obesity and widespread unhealthiness. The message to “eat more healthy whole grains” should accompany other mistakes, such as substituting margarine for butter or high-fructose corn syrup for sucrose, in the graveyard of misguided nutritional advice that has confused, misled, fattened, and crippled the American public.

  Wheat is not just another carbohydrate, no more than nuclear fission is just another chemical reaction.

  Problem: Given the wide berth the “healthy whole grain” message has been given the last fifty years, you may be in the minority in your neighborhood or home in coming to these realizations. You will, more than likely, come to recognize that your overweight and unhealthy friends continue to be the voodoo dolls of Big Food, your doctor has virtually no understanding of nutrition, and kids are treading down the path of obesity, diabetes, and poor health. The best way to spread this message? Set an example of glowing health and slenderness sans prescription drugs, calorie counting, or extreme exercise, just living a grain-free life, just as you were supposed to all along. And, for a few moments of camaraderie, come join our conversations on Wheat Belly social media.

  It is the ultimate hubris of modern humans that we can change and manipulate the genetic code of another species to suit our needs. Perhaps that will be possible a century from now when hubris is more in style and the genetic code can be as readily manipulated as your checking account. But today, genetic modification, chemical mutagenesis, and hybridization of the plants we cultivate as food crops remain crude science, still fraught with unintended effects on both the plant itself and the animals consuming them, especially since they never belonged on the human dietary menu in the first place.

  Earth’s plants and animals exist in their current form because of the end result of millions of years of evolutionary coddling. For the first three million years that humans walked this planet, reproduced, and proliferated, we did not cast hungry glances at seeds of grasses. It was only ten thousand years ago, give or take a few thousand years, less than half of 1 percent of our time on earth, that we made that mistake, meaning that we spent the first 99.7 percent of our time consuming other things, abundant and varied. It means that we defied the dietary script written into human genetic code, resulting in deteriorating health over the last 0.3 percent of our time here since we mistook the seeds of grass as food. But it got really bad when agribusiness and Big Food smelled the scent of large-scale herbicided, pesticided, genetically changed, mono-cropped profit, even co-opting government agencies into helping do their dirty business.

  In the ten-thousand-year journey from low-yield, not-so-baking-friendly einkorn grass to high-yield, created-in-a-laboratory, unable-to-survive-in-the-wild, suited-to-modern-tastes semi-dwarf wheat, we’ve witnessed a human engineered transformation that is no different from pumping livestock full of antibiotics and hormones while confining them in a factory warehouse for increased yield. Perhaps we can recover from this catastrophe called agriculture while preserving lessons learned from a society yielding airline flight and extra-cheese pizza, but a big first step is to recognize what we’ve done to this thing called “wheat.”

  See you in the produce aisle.

  APPENDIX A

  LOOKING FOR WHEAT IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES

  WHILE THE FOLLOWING lists may be daunting, sticking to wheat- and grain-free foods can be as easy as restricting yourself to foods that don’t require a label.

  Foods such as cucumbers, kale, cod, salmon, olive oil, walnuts, eggs, and avocados have nothing to do with wheat or grains. They are naturally free of such things, natural and healthy without benefit of some “gluten-free” label.

  But if you venture outside of familiar natural whole foods, eat in social situations, go to restaurants, or travel, then there is potential for inadvertent wheat and grain exposure.

  For many people, this is not just a game. Someone with celiac disease, for instance, may have to endure days to weeks of abdominal cramping, diarrhea, even intestinal bleeding from an inadvertent encounter with wheat components in oil used to fry French fries that was previously used to fry breaded chicken. Even after the nasty rash of dermatitis herpetiformis heals, it can flare with just a dash of wheat-containing soy sauce or a wheat-contaminated knife. Or someone who experiences inflammatory neurological symptoms can experience abrupt decline in coordination because the gluten-free beer really wasn’t. For others who don’t have immune- or inflammation-mediated gluten sensitivity, accidental exposure to wheat can bring on diarrhea, asthma, mental fog, joint pains or swelling, and leg edema—or behavioral outbursts in people with ADHD or autism, mania in people with bipolar illness, or paranoia and auditory hallucinations in people with schizophrenia.

  Many people therefore need to be vigilant about exposure to wheat and related grains. Those with autoimmune conditions such as celiac, dermatitis herpetiformis, and cerebellar ataxia also need to avoid other gluten-containing grains: rye, barley, spelt, triticale, kamut, and bulgur. While corn contains no gluten, it contains a gluten-like protein called zein that should also be avoided, since it can mimic many of the same effects. But, even if a product contains no ingredient from wheat or related grains, it is best to avoid products with any grain ingredient, including oats, rice, and millet. While these grains are not as harmful as public enemy number one, modern wheat, they send blood sugar through the roof, as they share the amylopectin A carbohydrate of other grains.

  Wheat and gluten come in a dizzying variety of forms. Couscous, matzo, orzo, graham, and bran are all wheat. So are farro, panko, and rusk. Appearances can be misleading. For instance, the majority of breakfast cereals contain wheat flour, wheat-derived ingredients, or gluten despite names such as Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies.

  To qualify as gluten-free by FDA criteria, manufactured products (not restaurant-produced products) must be both free of gluten and produced in a gluten-free facility to prevent cross-contamination. This means that, for the seriously sensitive, even an ingredient label that does not list wheat or any buzzwords for wheat such as “modified food starch” can still contain some measure of gluten. If in doubt, a call or e-mail to the customer service department may be necessary to inquire whether a gluten-free facility was used. Also, more manufacturers are starting to specify whether products are gluten-free or not gluten-free on their websites.

  Note that wheat-free does not equate with gluten-free in food labeling. Wheat-free can mean, for instance, that barley malt or rye is used in place of wheat, but both also contain gluten. For the very gluten-sensitive, such as those with celiac, do not assume that wheat-free is necessarily gluten-free.

  You already know that wheat and gluten can be found in abundance in obvious foods such as breads, pastas, and pastries. But there are some not-so-obvious foods that can contain wheat, as listed
below.

  Baguette

  Barley

  Beignet

  Bran

  Brioche

  Bulgur

  Burrito

  Couscous

  Crepe

  Croutons

  Durum

  Einkorn

  Emmer

  Farina

  Farro (several wheat varieties are often loosely called “farro” in Italy)

  Focaccia

  Gnocchi

  Graham flour

  Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

  Kamut

  Matzo

  Modified food starch Orzo

  Panko (a bread crumb mixture used in Japanese cooking)

  Ramen

  Roux (wheat-based sauce or thickener)

  Rusk

  Rye

  Seitan (nearly pure gluten used in place of meat)

  Semolina

  Soba (mostly buckwheat but usually also includes wheat)

  Spelt

  Strudel

  Tart

  Textured vegetable protein

  Triticale

  Udon

  Wheat germ

  Wraps

  WHEAT-CONTAINING PRODUCTS

  Wheat reflects the incredible inventiveness of the human species, as we’ve transformed this grain into an astounding multitude of shapes and forms. Beyond the many configurations that wheat can take listed above, an even greater variety of foods contains some measure of wheat or gluten. These are listed below.

  Please keep in mind that, due to the extraordinary number and variety of products on the market, this list cannot include every possible wheat- and gluten-containing item. The key is to remain vigilant and ask (or walk away) whenever in doubt.

  Many foods listed below also come in gluten-free versions. Some gluten-free versions are both tasty and healthy (e.g., vinaigrette salad dressing without hydrolyzed vegetable protein). But bear in mind that the growing world of gluten-free breads, breakfast cereals, and flours, which are typically made with rice starch, cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca starch, are not healthy substitutes. Nothing that generates diabetic-range blood sugar responses should be labeled “healthy,” gluten-free or otherwise. They serve best as occasional indulgences, not staples. Even better, avoid them altogether.

  There is also an entire world of stealth sources of wheat and gluten that cannot be deciphered from the label. If the listed ingredients include nonspecific terms such as “starch,” “emulsifiers,” or “leavening agents,” then the food contains gluten or other grain-sourced ingredient until proven otherwise.

  There is doubt surrounding the gluten content of some foods and ingredients, such as caramel coloring. Caramel coloring is the caramelized product of heated sugars that is nearly always made from corn syrup, but some manufacturers make it from a wheat-derived source. Such uncertainties are expressed with a question mark beside the listing.

  Not everybody needs to be extra-vigilant about the most minute exposure to gluten. The listings that follow are simply meant to raise your awareness of just how ubiquitous wheat, grains, and gluten are, and provide a starting place for people who really do need to be extremely vigilant about their gluten exposure.

  Here’s a list of unexpected sources of wheat and gluten:

  BEVERAGES

  Ales, beers, lagers (though there is an increasing number of gluten-free beers)

  Bloody Mary mixes

  Coffees, flavored

  Herbal teas made with wheat, barley, or malt

  Malt liquor

  Teas, flavored

  Vodkas distilled from wheat (Absolut, Grey Goose, Stolichnaya)

  Whiskey distilled from wheat or barley

  Wine coolers (containing barley malt)

  BREAKFAST CEREALS

  I trust you can tell that cereals such as Shredded Wheat and Wheaties contain wheat. However, some that appear to be wheat-free most decidedly are not.

  Bran cereals (All-Bran Original, All-Bran Buds, Raisin Bran)

  Corn flakes (Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Corn Bran Crunch)

  Granola cereals

  “Healthy” cereals (Grape-Nuts, Smart Start, Special K, Trail Mix Crunch)

  Muesli (Müeslix)

  Oat cereals (Cheerios, Cracklin’ Oat Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats)

  Popped corn cereals (Corn Pops)

  Puffed rice cereals (Rice Krispies)

  CHEESE

  Because the cultures used to ferment some cheeses come in contact with bread (bread mold), they potentially present a gluten exposure risk.

  Blue cheese

  Cottage cheese (not all)

  Gorgonzola

  Roquefort

  COLORING/FILLERS/TEXTURIZERS/THICKENERS

  These hidden sources can be among the most problematic, since they are often buried deep in the ingredient list or sound as if they have nothing to do with wheat or gluten. Unfortunately, there is often no way to tell from the label, nor will the manufacturer be able to tell you, since these ingredients are often produced by a supplier.

  Artificial colors

  Artificial flavors

  Caramel coloring (?)

  Caramel flavoring (?)

  Dextrimaltose

  Emulsifiers

  Maltodextrin (?)

  Modified food starch

  Stabilizers

  Textured vegetable protein

  ENERGY, PROTEIN, AND MEAL REPLACEMENT BARS

  Clif Bars

  Gatorade Fuel Bar

  GNC Pro Performance bars

  Kashi GoLean bars

  PowerBars

  SlimFast meal bars

  FAST FOOD

  At many fast-food restaurants, the oil used to fry French fries may be the same oil used to fry bread crumb–coated chicken patties. Likewise, cooking surfaces may be shared. Foods you wouldn’t ordinarily regard as wheat-containing often do contain wheat, such as scrambled eggs made with pancake batter or Taco Bell nacho chips and potato bites. Sauces, sausages, and burritos typically contain wheat or wheat-derived ingredients.

  Foods that don’t contain wheat, grains, or gluten are, in fact, the exception at fast-food restaurants. It is therefore difficult, perhaps impossible, to confidently obtain wheat- and gluten-free foods at these places. (You shouldn’t be eating there anyway!) However, some chains, such as Subway, Arby’s, Wendy’s, and Chipotle Mexican Grill, confidently claim that many of their products are gluten-free and/or they offer a gluten-free menu.

  HOT CEREALS

  Cream of Wheat

  Farina

  Malt-O-Meal

  Oat bran

  Oatmeal

  MEATS

  Breaded meats

  Canned meats

  Deli meats (luncheon meats, salami)

  Hot dogs

  Imitation bacon

  Imitation crabmeat

  Hamburger (if bread crumbs are added)

  Sausage

  Turkey, self-basting

  MISCELLANEOUS

  This can be a real problem area, since identifiable wheat-, grain-, or gluten-containing ingredients may not be listed on product labels. A call to the manufacturer is sometimes necessary.

  Envelopes (glue)

  Gloss and lip balms

  Lipstick

  Nutritional supplements (Many manufacturers will specify “gluten-free” on the label.)

  Play-Doh

  Prescription and over-the-counter medications (A useful online resource can be found at www.glutenfreedrugs.com, a listing maintained by a pharmacist.)

  Stamps (glue)

  SAUCES, SALAD DRESS
INGS, CONDIMENTS

  Gravies thickened with wheat flour or cornstarch

  Ketchup

  Malt syrup

  Malt vinegar

  Marinades

  Miso

  Mustards containing wheat

  Salad dressings

  Soy sauce

  Teriyaki sauce

  SEASONINGS

  Curry powder

  Seasoning mixes

  Taco seasoning

  SNACKS AND DESSERTS

  Cookies, crackers, and pretzels are obvious wheat-containing snacks. But there are plenty of not-so-obvious items.

  Cake frosting

  Candy bars

  Chewing gum (powdered coating)

  Chex mixes

  Corn chips

  Dried fruit (lightly coated with flour)

  Dry roasted peanuts

  Fruit fillings with thickeners

  Granola bars

  Ice cream (cheesecake, chocolate malt, cookie dough, cookies and cream, Oreo cookie)

  Ice cream cones

  Jelly beans (not including Jelly Belly and Starburst)

  Licorice

  Nut bars

  Pies

  Potato chips (including Pringles)

  Roasted nuts

  Tiramisu

  Tortilla chips, flavored

  Trail mixes

  SOUPS

  Bisques

  Broths, bouillon

  Canned soups

  Soup mixes

  Soup stocks and bases

  SOY AND VEGETARIAN PRODUCTS

  Veggie burgers (Boca Burgers, Gardenburgers, MorningStar Farms burgers)

  Vegetarian “chicken” strips

  Vegetarian chili

  Vegetarian hot dogs and sausages

  Vegetarian “scallops”

  Vegetarian “steaks”

  SWEETENERS

  Barley malt, barley extract

  Dextrin and maltodextrin (?)

  Malt, malt syrup, malt flavoring

  APPENDIX B

  A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO FERMENTATION

  BEFORE REFRIGERATION, there was fermentation, one of the methods by which humans preserved food after harvest. This was one of the ways our great-grandparents harvested radishes, zucchini, or asparagus in summer, then consumed them throughout the fall and winter. They allowed foods to ferment (i.e., undergo degradation by bacteria and fungi). You probably already consume fermented foods regularly in the form of kefir and yogurt. Pickles and sauerkraut can also be fermented, but most store-bought products are not, using only vinegar and brine. (Fermented foods should be labeled as such.)